Surgical staff might be considered at most risk of accidental viral infection due to their higher exposure to blood.
Aim: To evaluate surgical staff concerns about occupational HIV infection, to determine contributing factors, to assess their sero-status regarding this pathogen, and the frequency of the Δ32 allele of the CCR5 gene.
Methods: With the use of a self-administered anonymous questionnaire a cross-sectional sero-survey was conducted from February 2009-January 2010 among doctors/nurses from the surgical/ gynaecological wards of 16 randomly selected hospitals in Western Pomerania, Poland. Fear level was measured by the use of the VAS scale (range 0-10). Serum samples were tested by ELISA. Genotyping was performed using a PCR-AFLP assay.
Results: Response rate 84.9%; 427 participants, 88.3% females; 84.8% nurses, 15.2% doctors (median age 42 years, range 22-61 years). More than two thirds of respondents (67.2%) overestimated HIV single exposure risk. The median level of occupational HIV fear was 6.67. The prevalence of anti-HIV was 0.0% (95%CI: 0-0.9%); 1.2% (95%CI: 0.5%-2.9%) of participants were homozygotes Δ32/Δ32. The stepwise regression model revealed that job category (nurse) was associated with HIV fear (p<0.001).
Conclusions: The risk of contracting occupational HIV infection remains low; no anti-HIV positive individuals were found among surgical staff, one in one hundred were resistant to HIV infection. Staff members, especially nurses, were much concerned with acquiring an occupational HIV infection, possibly due to the lack of knowledge on single exposure risk. Educational actions and better access to specialists which would help surgical staff in managing anxiety at the workplace is urgently needed.